


In His Skin

by Somniare



Category: Lewis (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Nakedness, Trust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-30
Updated: 2014-11-30
Packaged: 2018-02-27 11:45:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2691743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Somniare/pseuds/Somniare
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was a glorious sight, and Robbie could have happily stared for ages; however…</p>
            </blockquote>





	In His Skin

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to paperscribe for beta. :)
> 
> All mistakes are mine. They are all I own.

 

* * *

 

 

Robbie rolled over and squinted into the early morning light.  Holidays, he thought, are for sleeping in, not waking at a sparrow’s fart.  As his eyes adjusted, he opened them wider.  Though he knew it was impossible, Robbie was convinced the light here, on the south Devon coast, was warmer and softer than that in Oxford, and the sky was bluer too.  Not that Robbie could see much of the sky at the moment.  James stood stark naked at the window; the curtains were opened wide.  The window must have been open too, as birdsong and the smell of hay drifted in.  The gentle yellow light flowed around James’s body, blurring the edges.  James glowed like Robbie imagined an angel might.  It was a glorious sight, and Robbie could have happily stared for ages; however…

“Come away from the window, pet.  You’ll catch more than a cold if someone sees you.”

“No-one out there except a herd of cows – Holsteins, I think,” James murmured.  “They won’t care.”

Robbie sat up, holding the covers against his chest.  “No, but where there are cows there’ll be a farmer, and although, God knows, you’re a bonny sight like that, he or she may not be as appreciative as I am.”

James turned around.  A knowing smile crossed his face.  “How appreciative are you?”

“Get back in here an’ I’ll show you.”

There were barely two steps between the window and the bed – James’s long legs could have covered the space in one stride – but he didn’t move.

“Make me,” James said teasingly.

“Is that a challenge?”

James’s face grew thoughtful.  “Challenge.  Dare.  Offer.  Your choice.”

Love and desire surged through Robbie.  And more than a touch of fear.  He knew exactly what James wanted.

He wanted Robbie to stand at the window with him.  Naked.  Visible.  Exposed.  Vulnerable.

Robbie was very conscious of the physical differences between himself and James, differences James simply did not see.  In the dark, under the covers, James had proved to Robbie time and again that none of it mattered.  Where Robbie saw flaws and the passage of time, James saw perfect imperfections.  James was comfortable with his nakedness and Robbie longed for that ease in himself.

Robbie had always been a modest man, even at his fittest.  He and Val had stopped sleeping naked once the kids had come along; they would never know when they’d find one or both of the kids in their bed in the morning, and Robbie had quickly found it less embarrassing to be covered.  Then the kids had gotten older, and so had they, and, well, “old habits and all that,” he’d told James. 

He had made some progress though.  Robbie would now sleep naked with James, though that had taken a few weeks.  In the beginning Robbie had kept a spare pair of boxers in the drawer of the bedside table so he’d always be able to cover up after he and James had made love.  He still kept spare boxers close at hand, though now he only put them on when he had to get out of bed for the loo.  If it was the middle of the night, James would always be sitting up waiting for him to come back to bed.  What Robbie had first assumed was amusement in James’s expression quickly revealed itself as sadness.  Even so, Robbie still hadn’t been able to take the next step.

And now James was waiting for him.

When James had first suggested they spend their holidays in this small cottage in the middle of Devon’s dairy country, Robbie had had to be convinced it was what James wanted. 

“No museums, cathedrals, art galleries, or libraries with walking distance.  Not even a local pub for dinners,” he’d pointed out.

James had smiled enigmatically.  “We can take our own beer, wine, whatever, and as for meals, you know I’d happily cook every day if we had the time.  We’ll have nothing but time there.  I’d like this holiday to be about us, not about seeing things.  I’d like us to create a bit of history for ourselves, not revisit someone else’s.”

Robbie had had to swallow hard and take a deep breath before answering.  “That’s what you really want?”

“It is.”

“Sounds perfect, pet.”

The sun had risen higher, changing the texture of the light around James.  The halo had faded, and the edges of his body were more defined.  James stood perfectly still.  If Robbie also stayed still, the odds were James would come back to bed by himself.  But James had laid down the challenge.  “Make me.”

James would neither judge nor resent Robbie if he didn’t move; that wasn’t James’s way.  Robbie had learned James was far more patient and forgiving than many would give him credit for.  If anyone were to berate Robbie, it would be Robbie himself.  James’s eyes flickered to one side, drawing Robbie’s gaze towards the bedside table.  Robbie had put a pair of boxers in the drawer the night before, as was his habit.  It would only take a few seconds for him to retrieve them and slip them on, and then he could bring James back to bed.  But Robbie didn’t want to do that.  Not this time.  Robbie looked to James and held his gaze.

“Make you, eh?”  He grinned at James and let the covers fall away from his body.  James stood a little straighter and his eyes opened a little wider.  With a deep breath, Robbie slipped out of the bed and stood facing James.  He shivered as James’s eyes drifted longingly over his body.

Robbie crossed the small gap and pulled James into his arms, pressing their bodies together.  James’s pleasure at this turn of events was soon evident. 

“Right then, pet,” Robbie murmured as he dropped kisses and playful nips along James’s neck.  “Where exactly would you like to start?”

 


End file.
